TV: ESPN3

The Pittsburgh Panthers travel to Charlottesville, VA to play the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday night.

Pittsburgh dropped their second straight game, losing to Akron 21-10 last weekend, and is now 3-2 on the season. Pittsburgh won their first three games over Delaware, Boston College, and FIU, but then dropped back to back games to Iowa and Akron. The Panthers defense has remained strong despite the two losses, giving up 24 and 21 in those two contests. Overall, Pittsburgh is allowing an average of 18 points so far this season. Meanwhile, the offense is averaging 32.8 points per game. The Panthers are averaging only 154.8 passing yards, 114th in the country, and an outstanding 269.4 rushing yards per game, 16th in the country. Sophomore QB Chad Voytik has passed for 754 yards with 6 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Voytik’s main target is sophomore WR Tyler Boyd, who has 27 catches for 365 yards and 4 touchdowns. The best player on the team by far is sophomore RB James Connor, who has carried the ball 135 times for 791 yards and 9 touchdowns. Even with all three of these great players the Panthers have struggled offensively in their last two games. It won’t get any easier for Pittsburgh as they travel on the road to face a stingy defense.

USA TODAY Sports

The Virginia Cavaliers improved to 3-2 on the year after destroying Kent State 45-13 last weekend. The Cavaliers have lost to two solid teams in UCLA and BYU while beating the likes of Richmond, Louisville, and Kent State. The Cavaliers are giving up an average of 23.2 points per game, but they have held three of their opponents to 21 or less points. The Virginia offense is averaging over 33 points per game. The passing attack, which averages over 240 yards per game, is led by sophomore QB Matt Johns, who has passed for 564 yards with 6 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Junior WR Canaan Severin leads all Virginia receivers with 20 catches for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns. Senior RB Kevin Parks leads the rushing attack with 258 yards and 2 touchdowns for Virginia. The Cavaliers have played well at home and they will look to keep things rolling in front of the home crowd on Saturday under the lights.

These two teams have split the last four meetings with Pittsburgh earning the win at home last season 14-3. Virginia has a good run defense and they will need to slow down James Connor on Saturday if they expect to win. I think the Cavaliers will have success slowing Connor down and I don’t think Chad Voytik can carry the load for the Panthers. The Virginia offense will put up enough points to earn them a win. However, this game may come down to whoever has the ball last and I’m going to take the points.

Pittsburgh +5

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